Marvel has been struggling with its recent releases since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. For decades the superhero studio was at the top of the film industry and essentially set the stage for a resurgence in superhero films.
The films continued to amass billions of dollars, leading up to Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019), becoming two of the top-grossing films of all time. Although the studio has had a few one-off hits since then, like 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, the focus on its series released on Disney+ seems to have had a negative impact on its feature films.
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Since 2021, Marvel has released nine streaming shows directly to Disney+, with each of these shows interconnected into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and essentially being required viewing before seeing any of the newer releases. The amount of content coming from the studio has led to cries of “superhero fatigue,” with many pointing fingers as to various reasons why Marvel has released so many flops recently.
However, this is not the first time the Marvel Studios has gone through a rough patch, although it may be the first that spans more than one phase. In fact, Marvel’s Phase Two was perhaps the worst period in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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Marvel’s Recent Troubles
Marvel seems to have gone out with a bang with the success of Endgame in 2019 because the following year would see the COVID-19 pandemic and a worldwide shut down. Despite studios not being able to film, many of them turned their attention to their streaming efforts, releasing upcoming films directly to streaming in an effort to continue to release content and entice subscribers.
Disney was one such studio, although they debuted their streaming platform, Disney+, at the end of 2019. It really took off in 2020 though, as the platform saw more subscribers than the other three major streaming platforms combined. Since then, Disney+ has struggled to make itself profitable, with the Walt Disney Company and CEO Bob Iger trying various solutions to get the platform to turn a profit.
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Phases Four, Five, and Disney+
Marvel followed its parent company to streaming, and in 2021 released the first of their ongoing series set within the MCU, WandaVision. To this day, it’s still one of the most successful Marvel series, only combatted by Loki, which was the third series to be released to Disney+. In fact, the streaming Marvel shows took up most of Marvel’s Phase Four projects, with eight shows being released during Phase Four compared to seven feature films.
Released during Phase Four, Black Widow (2021), Eternals (2021), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) were major disappointments from the studio on the back of the success that was Endgame just two years prior. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) started Phase Five earlier this year and became Marvel’s worst-performing movie of all time.
Although Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 performed well in comparison, Disney+’s Secret Invasion and the recently released Captain Marvel (2019) sequel, The Marvels, has tied with Ant-Man for worst-performing Marvel movie.
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Earlier this year, Iger had some strong words for Marvel Studios and their recent failures, saying that the studio had put too much emphasis on quantity over quality while focusing on their Disney+ shows. This past year has also seen several Marvel VFX artists come forward with claims about horrendous working conditions on recent MCU projects.
Marvel seemed to have struggled trying to reach the same amount of success that its “Infinity Saga” movies saw, and its “Multiverse Saga” is off to a rough start. With the fate of several characters up in the air, including expected multi-phase villain Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), it’s unclear how the rest of Phase Five and other upcoming phases will be forced to readjust.
This isn’t the first time Marvel has faced a rough period in the MCU though, although with it spanning Phases Four, Five, and possibly Six, it’s certainly the longest. However, Phase Two may still be the worst phase in Marvel Cinematic history.
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Marvel’s Spectrum
Post-Avengers Transition: Phase Two
Marvel’s Phase Two was short and to the point, although it also faced a challenge right from the start: after the success of The Avengers (2012), how could the studio continue to set up its characters without losing that fervor? Spoiler: it couldn’t.
Phase Two included the following releases:
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Ant-Man (2015)
Besides Guardians of the Galaxy, and maybe Winter Soldier, these movies were disappointing compared to previous releases, and are largely forgettable for fans. Although Age of Ultron officially introduced Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, and her brother Pietro/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson), as well as future love interest Vision (Paul Bettany), it failed to capture the same reactions the The Avengers had just three years prior. It also just feels like a waste of every character, with Ultron being underutilized, Pietro rapidly becoming a fan favorite only to be immediately killed, and giving Hulk and Natasha an unfortunate romantic side plot.
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Iron Man 3’s story would finally give Pepper some badassery as she donned the Iron Man suit for the first time, but the plot was all over the place and introduced several storylines that would go no where. Seeing as it would also be Robert Downey Jr.’s last solo venture as Tony Stark, it was an underwhelming culmination of the trilogy that kick started the entire MCU and the Avengers.
Thor: The Dark World would see a literal dark movie, with some strange choices in lighting and character development that was mocked by fans. It would also feature Thor having to watch Loki die (again, and not for the last time) while trying to protect Jane Foster. It would lead to a major franchise shift as Taika Waititi took over the helm for Thor: Ragnarok (2017) which is one of the franchise’s best, but Dark World would tie for worst Thor movie alongside Thor: Love and Thunder, the most recent installment that gained an outpouring of criticism.
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Ant-Man would be the best of the trilogy, with the third installment, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), becoming the worst-performing Marvel movie of all time. Although Ant-Man would introduce Paul Rudd’s comedic and lovable Scott Lang, the production suffered from creative differences and was a lackluster origin story and introduction to the character.
Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are arguably the best movies out of this entire lineup, if not some of the best from Marvel’s entire filmography. Unfortunately, because they were released alongside the other disappointments, they’re either easily lumped in with the rest of Phase Two or are assumed to have released outside of Phase Two altogether.
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Rotten Tomatoes has ranked all 33 MCU movies up to The Marvels. According to their scoring, it places the Phase Two installments as follows:
Guardians of the Galaxy at #8
Captain America: The Winter Soldier at #12
Ant-Man at #18
Iron Man 3 at #23
Avengers: Age of Ultron at #25
Thor: The Dark World at #28
With three of the six movies not even in the top 20, it was a pretty rough go for Marvel and arguably has the most forgettable movies in the MCU timeline. Thankfully, it only spanned two years and six movies before entering Phase Three, which would become Marvel’s prime era.
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Blockbuster Era: Phase Three
Phase Three of the MCU is widely beloved by fans while also enjoying success both critical and commercial. Spanning from 2016’s Captain America: Civil War to Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019, this phase delivered a diverse range of films that not only continued the overarching narrative but also showcased an evolution in storytelling, character development, and thematic depth. These 11 films defined a generation of superhero filmmaking that many consider to be the best there will ever be.
One key factor in the success of Phase Three was the culmination of intricate storytelling threads surrounding and leading up to an intergalactic threat so great, it would unite every major hero in the MCU at that time. The beginning of Phase Three began with the dissolution of the Avengers. The splintering of this group would take a backseat during the following films, which followed other heroes in the Marvel universe that would unknowingly come together to face the shared threat of “The Mad Titan Thanos.” Thanos had been teased as early as the first Avengers, but the events leading up to his arrival created a palpable build up of anticipation that exploded once he made his debut in Avengers: Infinity War.
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Most importantly, perhaps, is how the characters interacted and evolved throughout the franchise. “Boy Scout” Captain America stood against his country when he believed the government was wrong in trying to control how and when superheroes could help others. Black Panther forgave the Winter Soldier for assassinating his father and even helped in his rehabilitation following the events of Civil War. One of the strongest relationships formed was that of Spider-Man and Iron Man. Tony Stark recruited Peter in Civil War as a mentor and oversaw his super hero development all the way until his demise in Endgame.
Compared to the mostly solo films in Phase Two that offered disappointing additions to the beloved heroes, whether it was an unsatisfying end to the Iron Man trilogy or a so-so introduction to Ant-Man that would only get worse, Phase Three dived so much deeper into each of the Avengers in a way that felt fresh and genuine. Phase Three was also laser-focused on its culmination with Infinity War and Endgame, two major events that Marvel had been building up to for over a decade.
Phase Three also demonstrated a willingness to take creative risks in storytelling while maintaining a “fun-for-everyone” atmosphere. Thor: Ragnarok reinvented the character of Thor with a comedic and visually stunning approach, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 delved into complex themes of family and identity. These risks paid off, contributing to the overall success and critical acclaim of Phase Three that Phase Two just completely lacked.
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With all that in mind, it’s no wonder that Marvel has struggled to find its sense of purpose with Phase Four and Five. With many of its original Avengers gone and fans having recovered from the emotional toll that both Infinity War and Endgame had, the studio is essentially attempting to recreate Phase One of the MCU. The problem this time, however, is that they’ve already done it and now have themselves to be compared to.
Especially as the movies seem to be more of a “cameo fest” to expedite the multiverse plotline, the movies just seem to lack the heart and innovation that Phase One and Phase Three had. Given that Marvel has faced this problem before, hopefully they can once again turn the tides of their rapidly declining universe. However, with more losses than successes in the last two major phases, that may be a task only the Avengers can handle.
What Marvel movie or phase do you think was the best? Let us know in the comments below!
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